Second Shots
by janey1097
Summary: One setup, two minor changes, two completely different outcomes. It's the butterfly effect. Scene one, take two: A lucky few avoid the conflict, but some are right back where they started. Cody gets backup in his mission. Trent isn't particularly helpful.
1. Chapter 1

**(A.N.) For those who don't know, the butterfly effect is where a minor change is made to a scenario, producing two completely different outcomes. In this chapter, the first scenario is shown, and in the second chapter, the second scenario will be shown. Obviously, it will be the same setup. Hopefully that erases any confusion. Enjoy!**

Cody awoke to the sound of singing.

This struck him as odd, because the karaoke machine TDA's Playa de Losers had was now somewhere in the belly of a shark, thanks to Izzy's "scientific experiments". So with congratulations to the crazy redhead, she now found out that you actually _can't_ make a shark sing just by feeding him a karaoke machine and a CD with eighties' classics. Who knew?

Slowly, Cody's fingers flew to his forehead, where sure enough a pattern of square indents was marked in his forehead. Yet again he had fallen asleep on his keyboard in the café with a half-downed jug of Mountain Dew by his side.

He yawned, and stood upright. Rubbing his exhausted eyes, he made his way out of the café into the open outdoors. From the look of things, it was around afternoon.

"Why did no one come wake me up…?" Cody wondered to himself. "The curse of unpopularity…"

"Will someone get me down from here?!" Noah shouted, interrupting Cody's bemoans. Beside the pool, the cynic was being hoisted around on a chair by Izzy, while the other campers sang something that sounded suspiciously like the 'Happy Birthday' song.

Reverting back to his cheery self, Cody ran over to the miniature party.

"Hey guys!" He greeted. "What's happening? Party in the hiz-ouse?" Admittedly, those were two somewhat stupid questions with obvious answers, but he couldn't quite come up with something more original at that particular moment.

"Hey Co--" Trent began to greet, but stopped himself. "Dude, what happened? Fall asleep on a waffle iron?"

"Pretty close," Cody replied, chuckling weakly. "So, uh, I guess it's…"

"It's Noah's birthday!" Katie informed Cody, squealing alongside Sadie. "Sure, it took a little convincing…"

"I agreed to nothing!" Noah yelled. He was still being hoisted around unwillingly by Izzy, who proceeded to trip and accidentally dump Noah in the pool.

"Oh come on, dude!" Geoff exclaimed. "It's a party! Aren't you like, super stoked Izzy found out about your sweet sixteenth and we could throw you a celebration this totally awesome?" Noah's head poked out from the water's surface.

"Oh right," he grumbled, scrambling to get back on dry ground. "I can't think of a better way I'd like to spend my time."

"Isn't this a bit of a _waste_ of time?" Courtney asked Bridgette, an eyebrow raised. "It's not like he's gonna actually enjoy this. I mean, he's unenthusiastic and overcritical about everything and everyone. Which, in retrospect, would explain why he has no romantic relationships—past and present."

"I'm still in earshot you know," Noah pointed out from a few feet away, slapping his forehead all the while.

"Well, at least there's cake, right?" Bridgette laughed. The surfer girl's pale green eyes widened. "Oh jeez, please don't tell me Izzy has blown that up too."

"Not yet!" Izzy assured her, hiding an unusually large amount of fireworks behind her back.

"_Too?_" Cody echoed Bridgette, eyeing Trent in confusion and fear.

"Don't ask," was Trent's only sighed reply. The campers all took their seats after that around a large circular table. Noah attempted to run away, but Izzy grabbed him by the collar and forced him to sit and stay.

"We got you presents, too!" Tyler announced proudly. He and the other ex-campers whipped out various presents and pushed them towards Noah.

"Which one do you want to open first, eh?" Ezekiel questioned. Noah sighed.

"Ugh, I don't know. Should I even care?"

"You better care, dipstick," Eva growled as she slammed her fist on the table. "It's enough _I_ had to come here--"

"Indeed it is," Courtney cut her off, rubbing her temples in irritation.

"Hmph," Eva grunted. She glared at Noah. "Just open a present already or I'll check them all at your head and see which one lands in your hands on rebound."

"Wouldn't want that, now would we…?" Noah muttered. With another sigh, he surveyed the various presents on the table. He reached for one, but then stopped when he saw a Monarch slowly fly past him, landing on a gift a few inches to the left of his first pick. It distracted his gaze, and without giving it much thought he reached for the Monarch-populated present instead.

"Alright, shoo, you conveniently placed Danaus Plexippus," the cynic ordered, waving his hand in an attempt to lead away the butterfly.

"I'm guessing you're the kind of guy who reads a science book like a romance novel…" Tyler said slowly as he shook his head.

"I don't have much of a social life, okay?" Noah grumbled irritably.

"We figured that one on our own," Eva assured him, rolling her eyes.

"For party guests, you're not exactly bestowing that 'birthday cheer'."

"Just hurry up and open the gift!" Izzy squealed. "It's mine! It's mine!" Noah shrugged, and unwrapped the paper. Inside was a snow globe with the set of TDA inside it. On the outside of the globe, written messily in a many-colored sharpie was the message 'Happy Sweet Sixteenth, Noah!'

"Great," Noah said sarcastically. "A cheap, thoughtless gift from the souvenir shop. Just what I've always wanted." Izzy sniffled, insulted, and after a short moment's pause, Bridgette was the first one to speak up.

"Did you forget that Izzy was the one to _throw_ the party in the first place?" She questioned angrily. "What other gifts do you expect us to find when we've been stuck here so long? Isn't it the thought that counts?" Noah, unsurprisingly, rolled his eyes.

"Don't give me that 'holier-than-thou' crap, Blondie."

Courtney was the one to come to her friend's rescue first.

"You know," the brunette growled testily. "Bridgette's right. We throw you this whole party and we haven't gotten an ounce of gratitude. Honestly, does it go against every moral fiber of your body to _not_ be a total jackass all the time?"

"Yes."

"Ugh!" Courtney groaned. "Okay, forget this! This is idiotic!" She stomped off.

"Ooh…" Ezekiel whimpered to Tyler as the former tapped his fingers together nervously. "This isn't going well. I think we might want to leave before it gets too serious, eh. It's a fight about to happen…"

"I agree," Tyler muttered. "Let's get out of here before it gets--"

"What makes you two perfect, anyways?" Noah questioned suddenly, eyeing Bridgette. Tyler moaned, and sunk into his chair.

"Dude's digging his own watery eco-friendly grave," the jock concluded. He inched out of his chair, and Ezekiel copied the action. Then, slowly, the two ran far away before they could be lassoed back into the fight. Katie and Sadie looked at each other, thinking the same thing, and ran away hand in hand as well.

"What?" Bridgette questioned, surprised at Noah's query.

"I said, what makes you two so perfect? You were the first voted off TDA; you fought all throughout TDA Aftermath, not to mention the countless list of screw-ups in TDI. Shall I name them?"

"Noah, seriously, stop," Trent replied instantly in a disapproving tone. Cody, besides him, nodded weakly. So much for a party.

"You know what?" For a second, Bridgette sounded like she was about to go on a rant, but she closed her mouth. After a while, she stood up. "I think I'm gonna head. See you guys later."

"Aw man…" Geoff mumbled, disappointed with how the party turned out. "Bridgette! Wait!"

Eva left after a few seconds as well, and Noah was quick to follow in the opposite direction, leaving his unopened presents on the table. Trent, sighing, shot an apologetic look towards the final two partygoers as he left. It was just Cody and Izzy left at the table.

"You okay?" Cody asked, inching towards the redhead.

"Huh?" Izzy asked dizzily. She seemed to snap out of a trance, and then laughed nervously. "Oh yeah, fine! Happy as a…a…" She crossed her arms. "Damn it, I can't even think of a good saying from my Scottish ancestors!"

"That's okay," Cody laughed. His expression became sympathetic. "Hey, don't let what Noah said get you down, ok? Sorry he acted like a…like a…"

"Tootsie Farklepants?" offered Izzy.

"I don't know what that is, but hey, whatever works!" Cody grinned. "You know what though? Maybe I should talk to Noah…"

"Can I come?" Izzy asked.

"Sure!"

"Can I smack him on the head?"

"Uh…I'd prefer if you didn't."

"Oh. Never mind then, I don't think it'd be quite as fun for me," Izzy mused. She paused. "You know, I tried to make Noah something at first instead. A carving…thing…of the bear from Wawanakwa! But I messed it up. At the last moment, too," She sighed. "He didn't even look at the bottom of the snow globe."

Curious, Cody picked up the snow globe and turned it over. Taped to the bottom was a picture of the twenty-two campers from the very first day they met on the Dock of Shame.

"That's really nice, Izzy," Cody complemented her.

"You wouldn't believe the trouble I had to go through to get that!" Izzy exclaimed. "I had to learn how to use and download stuff off of the _internet_! But I found out that not everyone on the internet is a creepy psycho killer…so that helped. I wouldn't want to have to cyber-bitch-slap everyone I met there."

"Well, that's good…" Cody said awkwardly, not sure what he could add to that. He smiled once again at Izzy, stood up, and walked away.

As he did so, he mapped out the situation in his head. He was about to attempt to convert the sarcastic, uncaring cynic to a much happier lifestyle.

_"Well, I don't see him frolicking in flowers anytime soon…"_ Cody thought to himself. "_But it's worth a try, right?"_

One can hope.

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"She went that way!"

"Noooo, you're wrong Sadie! She went _that_ way!"

"Ugh, you like, _never_ respect my opinion!"

Geoff, who had been waiting patiently for directions, decided to step in. Even though he had been following Bridgette, Bridgette didn't notice him, and was moving way too fast. Before he knew it, Geoff had lost track of her.

"Let's just chill, ok?" he offered. "Just really try to remember…did she go right…or left?"

The two girls weren't completely compliant yet, and they just glared at each other.

"In fact…are you sure you even saw her?" If they didn't actually see her, there wasn't much point in pressing them for info, Geoff concluded to himself.

"Yeah, _I'm_ sure," Katie muttered. "Sadie was too busy daydreaming about Justin."

"You were too!" Sadie exploded back.

"Yeah but…with _me_, it could actually happen!"

Sadie gasped.

"How DARE you!"

Geoff groaned. Those two were long gone from an actual point of sanity by now.

"Knowing Bridgette, she probably just went back to the indoor Jacuzzi," a new voice spoke up. Geoff turned around, surprised, for it was neither Katie nor Sadie who made the rational conclusion.

"Oh hey, Courtney!" Geoff greeted. The CIT was standing close by, a cell-phone in one hand, a book in the other. "Yeah…you're probably right there. Why didn't I think of that earlier?"

"Cause you were too busy talking to those two," Courtney replied, nodding towards the still-arguing Katie and Sadie. "You lose IQ points just by hearing them talk."

Geoff, ignoring the insult Courtney had made, thanked her quickly and started running towards the beach. On the way, he passed Ezekiel and Tyler playing basketball.

"Check this out!" Tyler boasted, dribbling in front of the home-schooled one. He managed to get by Ezekiel, and dribble up beside the hoop. Making a big deal out of it, he dramatically took a shot…only to get an air ball.

"I'm better at my free-throws," Tyler explained, rubbing the back of his head sheepishly. Ezekiel grinned.

"'Course you are, eh."

Geoff waved at the two, and continued his path across the resort, all the way to the other side of the hotel, where the Jacuzzi was. Once he reached his destination, he opened the door, and walked inside, nervous but hopeful to comfort Bridgette.

Courtney was right—Bridgette was there, changed into her swimsuit, her eyes closed, and the majority of her body submerged in the bubbling water.

"Hey, Bridge," Geoff said softly, sitting on the edge of the Jacuzzi with his feet dangling in it. Bridgette slowly opened her eyes, and gave a bit of a forced smile to Geoff.

"Hey," she replied.

"You okay?" Geoff asked.

"No," Bridgette whispered. She was staring up at the ceiling. The two were silent for a few minutes, until Bridgette leaned forwards, her gaze settling on Geoff.

"Do we just look like idiots on TV, Geoff?" Bridgette questioned hoarsely. "Making out all the time, the trips, the falls, both of us looking eliminated on the same day…I mean really, are we that bad?"

"Definitely not, Bridge!" Geoff exclaimed. "We stuck it out far last season too, remember? They let us host our own show!"

"Which we argued in," Bridgette mumbled.

"Bridge, every couple argues sometime."

Bridgette sighed.

"It doesn't make it easier."

"Yeah…" Geoff agreed. "But nothing's gonna like, be easier if we look at the world the way Noah looks at it! We gotta keep a positive outlook! Look at what we have, not what we…err…_don't_ have!"

"And the make out sessions? We've been ridiculed for that an awful lot," Bridgette muttered.

"Y'know, me and my buds did some pretty stuff back in the day…"

"'Back in the day'? You're seventeen, Geoff."

"Well, back in the not-so-long-ago day then!" Geoff laughed. "What I mean is, you gotta do what makes you happy! And yeah, sometimes people will like, insult you for it and stuff…but that's okay! If you don't want to do it then, well, that's okay too! Like I said, whatever makes you happy."

Bridgette smiled.

"Thanks, Geoff. That actually makes me feel better."

"Awesome!" Geoff proclaimed. He paused for a brief moment, and then stood up quickly, an idea apparently forming. "Oh, oh, I got it! Stay right here!"

Geoff dashed out of the Jacuzzi room for a moment, and curious, Bridgette waited. In less then five minutes, Geoff came in, struggling with Noah's large uneaten cake in his arms.

"Can't let it go to waste, right?" Geoff joked.

"Waste not, want not," Bridgette agreed, grinning. "You didn't bring any forks, silly."

"Whoops," Geoff said, embarrassed. "Uh, mind eating with your hands?" Bridgette tilted her head.

"Is that…chocolate cake?"

"Yup!"

"No need to worry then, I'd eat it with my hands tied behind my back."

Feeling a little childish, Bridgette grabbed a fistful of cake, and ate it, still smiling widely at Geoff.

"C'mere you," She snickered, pulling on his hand towards the Jacuzzi.

"But Bridge, I don't have my swimsuit on!" Geoff complained, unable to hide his grin.

"Yeah, but I feel lonely eating cake by myself in the Jacuzzi."

Eventually, Geoff fell into the Jacuzzi, alongside a laughing Bridgette. The two pulled the platter of cake onto their laps, eating the cake together.

After a while, the two fell asleep, with Bridgette's head lying on Geoff's shoulder.

Once they awoke, the passing-by pool boy was given no explanation to why there was a half-eaten chocolate cake at the bottom of the Jacuzzi. He decided not to ask.

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Cody paced the hotel hallway, debating whether or not just to abort the mission and check to see if that cake was still there. He glanced at Izzy's snow globe that was still in his hands.

"JUST DO IT, MORON!" Eva shouted at him from inside the room next to Noah's. Wondering how Eva even knew what he was planning; Cody sighed, and knocked on the door.

Noah opened the door a crack.

"Hello?" he asked, raising one thin eyebrow.

"Uh…hi. I was wondering if I could…talk to you?" the last part came out as a squeak. "Can I come in?"

"No."

"If you don't let me in, I'll just stand her all night, knocking," Cody bluffed. Noah rolled his eyes, exasperated.

"Fine. If you must."

Cody awkwardly squeezed past Noah, and the latter closed the door behind them. The cynic crossed his arms.

"I assume you came here to lecture me about the importance of not being a jerk to the world," Noah guessed.

"Nooo…" Cody said innocently. Noah narrowed his eyes. "Okay, yes. But honestly, look at this." He turned the snow globe over to the picture on the other side.

"Sentimental," Noah said plainly. "But I couldn't care less. In fact, I wouldn't care if they made me a gift that was made out of _friendship _and _love_. I just don't care."

"But that's the problem!" Cody objected. "You don't care, and you're gonna leave here friendless!"

"Nothing new, then," Noah said, indifferent. That caught Cody by surprise, and Noah continued before Cody could pitch something in. "And before you say how much you want me to convert, and how I'm not benefiting by my cynical act, I'll go ahead and say it again: I don't _care_ what you guys think of me."

"And because of that," Noah added. "I don't _want_ to be friends with any of you. So, save the sanctimonious speech, and just leave."

Cody blinked a few times, and unsure what else to say, just left instead. He leaned against the railing outside, staring not at the view of the resort it gave, but rather, still at the snow globe. He sighed, staring at the glass. He should've known—just a lost cause.

He turned the snow globe around in his hands, thinking it all over.

Eventually, he just closed his eyes.

"_What could've I done differently?"_ he wondered to himself. _"What else could I have said? Maybe if the day had gone just a little bit differently…maybe…but obviously I couldn't help Noah change his mind—who could?"_

As he turned his gaze away from the view of the resort—he could swear that from his peripherals, he saw a flutter of orange wings.

Or perhaps, it was a flash of orange hair from a fellow ex-camper.

But when Cody turned his head, it was gone.

**(A.N.) Part one is over, part two is coming next! A very big "thank you" to ****Angel360-Devil0, who was my beta-reader. I wasn't so sure about this story when I first made it, but I feel a bit more confident with it now.**

**Next chapter: Same setup, one minor change, a whole new outcome. Will Cody successfully change Noah? Will Geoff still be able to calm Bridgette? Will Izzy have some sort of big role in the next chapter? And will the other characters even have some sort of significance at all? **

**Who knows?**

**Wait, I do, but that's beside the point.**

**On a completely unrelated note—man oh man, Ludo just went up a hundred points in my book. I stumbled across their Broken Bride CD, and I **_**can't**_** stop listening to it! Such an amazing, eerie storyline with awesome songs…heh…my taste in music is weird, though.**

**Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**(A.N.) This chapter starts out basically at the beginning of the 'party' from last chapter, mostly because that's when the whole butterfly effect changes. Yeah, hopefully that made sense…**

**Remember, this is the butterfly effect! Same scenario as last chapter, except that little, little, change!**

"Come on, Noah!" Katie pressed, clapping her hands in excitement. "Open one!"

Noah sighed yet again, proving that some things don't change, even in alternate realities. He glanced at the presents, reaching for the closest, but his attention was sidetracked when a bright orange monarch flew right in front of him, landing on a present to the right of his first pick.

At first glance, it was a pretty innocent little change.

He blinked, and grabbed the present with the butterfly on it, without giving it a second thought.

"What is _this _horrible thing_?_" he asked, fingering the present with distaste. The present was crudely wrapped with newspaper and duct tape.

"It's mine!" Eva growled, her brown eyes narrowing with obvious rage.

"Well, it's always good to see teens putting recyclable material to good use," Noah said sarcastically. "I see Bridgette's starting to get to some people." Aforementioned surfer girl rolled her eyes.

Noah struggled to open the tightly-wound present.

"You've got to put some _muscle_ in it, bookworm!" Eva complained. "What, are you afraid you're gonna break a nail or something?" With an exasperated grunt, Noah jus tossed the present to Eva, who opened it in a heartbeat.

She pushed the present towards Noah. It was a T-shirt with a picture of Total Drama Action's Playa de Losers on it.

"Oh joy," Noah muttered. "A cheap and thoughtless souvenir shirt that reminds me of all of _you_, the horror, and isn't even my size."

"You annoying ungrateful little--!" Eva never finished her insult; rather, she just slammed the table in irritation. Due to Eva's possibly inhuman strength, this made everything on the table fly up in all directions…including the cake, which landed right on Courtney.

"Agh!" Courtney shrieked, standing up. She was covered in chocolate. "Ugh—I knew this wasn't a good idea! Great, this is gonna take forever to get off!" She glared at Noah. "Good riddance!" Once again, the CIT stomped off.

"Good riddance?" Tyler repeated, leaning back in his chair. "How old is she, seriously?" The jock sighed, glancing at the others, and grimaced. "I can tell this isn't gonna go so well."

"Really Noah," Bridgette said, as she stood up. She frowned. "Izzy throws you this party, we all pitch in, and you haven't given us an ounce of gratitude, or a single thanks."

"Cry me a river, Blondie," muttered Noah, clearly not in the mood for a possible lecture. "All of you aren't so perfect, either." He raised an eyebrow at Bridgette. "_Especially_ you and party boy over there."

"Whoa man," Geoff said cautiously. "Maybe everyone should just chill a little, right? It's a party!"

"With crappy presents," Noah chimed in.

"Alright, that's it!" Bridgette shouted. Tyler and Ezekiel, exchanging glances, slowly inched away from the table, while Katie and Sadie did the same.

Bridgette, quivering with rage, took one deep breath, and calmed herself. "Right. I'm gonna head. See you guys later." She jogged away.

"Bridgette!" Geoff exclaimed, heading after his girlfriend. "Wait!"

"Aw, man…" Izzy mumbled, running a hand through her bright orange hair. "E-Scope hates for a party to go so awry! Maybe if Noah opened E-Scope's present…?" Izzy glanced up hopefully, but Noah was already gone, as was Eva and Trent.

Cody, still sitting at the bench, seemed to be in a bit of a state of shock.

"Hey, Code-meister!" Izzy greeted cheerfully, scooting over to him.

"Oh, hey Izzy," Cody greeted back, albeit a tad weakly. "Sorry about your party."

"That's okay," Izzy sighed. "I'm still in a pretty good mood; it's not quite as bad as it could've been. He didn't verbally attack _my_ present, at least!" She grinned, and after a short pause, frowned. "Y'know, that's not exactly the best thing to be proud of…then again, I'm proud of a lot of weird things. Especially my eleven toes. Did you know I have toes?"

"No…" Cody said slowly.

"Want me to show you?"

"Please don't."

"Fine, fine," Izzy laughed. She eyed Cody curiously. "You look like you're thinking hard. Are you thinking of ways to get Noah back painfully? I have a list of possible methods, if you'd like."

"No, that's not what I had in mind," Cody admitted. "Err…you see…I was thinking maybe I could just talk to Noah, try to make him see the error of his ways, and all that." Izzy burst out laughing, and Cody blinked, surprised. After a while, Izzy calmed down.

"Oh, you were serious!" she exclaimed, surprised. Cody slapped his forehead. "Well, good luck. Do you want me to come too? I could hit him over the head for you!"

"Nah, that's okay. I don't want to cause him physical pain," Cody replied, grinning and standing up. He couldn't help it; Izzy was so crazy it was funny. "Thanks anyways!"

"May the dumb luck of Owen be with you!" Izzy shouted, waving at him as Cody walked away. Cody waved back, and jogged away in the distance.

Izzy sat at the bench, innocently whistling to herself for a while. Then, with an evil grin, she stood up.

"Cody's gonna need all the help E-Scope can give him," Izzy cackled, scampering towards the same path Cody went on all fours. "Whether he wants it or not! C'mon, I can be a sensible and helpful and wise person to talk to…right?"

As previously said, one may hope…no matter how odd of a stretch it may be.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

It was a simple question, really. Left or right. Two choices. Unfortunately, there were two choices, and two girls, and worst of all, Geoff had caught said two girls in yet another fight about a certain shirt-ripping shiny-teethed two-faced model.

How he had lost sight of Bridgette, he wasn't sure. The surfer girl seemed to be barely aware of her surroundings, including Geoff, and eventually the sun in his eyes and the numerous trees, buildings, and other distractions got to him.

Trying to be patient, he awaited Katie and Sadie's answer to the simple question of which way Bridgette went.

"She went that way, Sadie!" Katie growled, while Sadie retaliated with an equally uncreative objection.

Oh, how he wished there was someone a bit more intelligent to help him out—but the two only people who knew where Bridgette was were busy. One was washing the chocolate out of her hair, and the other was Bridgette herself, who couldn't exactly help out with that particular situation. Minutes passed.

Geoff sighed. Maybe he could just end up with a lucky guess…

"Hey, dude!" A new voice greeted, male. Geoff turned around, it was Trent. "Looking for Bridgette?" Trent guessed. Geoff nodded, and grinned hopefully.

"Do you know where she is, bro?" he asked. Trent shook his head sheepishly.

"Not really. I've been walking around the resort, but I haven't seen anybody, 'cept for Eva who was muttering angrily to herself, and Noah, who was heading back to his room." Trent rolled his eyes. "Part of me wanted to smack that guy in the face. He's such a jerk."

"Oh my gosh, I know, right?" Sadie giggled, turning to the boys.

"Were they _talking_ to _you_, Sadie?" Katie muttered testily. "I thought not."

"I just innocently joined in the conversation!" Sadie objected.

"Yeah, but they didn't want you in it!"

"Yeah, well…but…you're…" Sadie sniffled, and started bawling. Katie kept her rigid composure for a second, but then sniffled too, and gave Sadie a hug. Sadie in turn hugged Katie, although it was visibly obvious this was somewhat painful for Katie. Katie grinned anyway.

"Aw…" the two boys marveled in unison, in spite of themselves.

"Want me to help you look for Bridgette?" Trent offered. Geoff nodded.

"Sure, dude! Thanks!"

"No problem," Trent replied. "It's always nice to see…a happy…couple…" at the end, he began sniffling.

"Aw dude, it's okay!" Geoff comforted. "You'll win Gwen back!"

"You think so?"

"I _know_ so!" Geoff confirmed. Trent pondered this for a moment, and thought of the other available girls at the TDA Playa de Losers: Eva, Sadie, and Katie. He shuddered.

"I hope you're right," Trent sighed.

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The two boys wandered around the resort, keeping an eye out for the surfer girl.

On the way, they passed Ezekiel and Tyler, who were playing basketball. Tyler took the ball down the court, faked left, dribbled right, stopped a few feet in front of the basket, and took a shot.

He got an air ball.

"Uh…I'm better at my lay-ups," Tyler lied awkwardly.

"Sure you are, eh," Ezekiel laughed.

"Since when do you know sarcasm?" Tyler asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Bridgette's teaching me. She says I have lots of potential to get back into teen lingo and such, eh. You could say I'm, uh, da bomb!"

"A few centuries off, dude," Tyler snickered. Ezekiel blushed.

"Bridgette's…a very patient teacher."

"I thought so."

Trent and Geoff waved to the two, who waved back. The former pair continued their search.

They must've gone around the resort three times, before Geoff slumped into the ground, coming to a realization.

"How could I not think of it dude?" he groaned. "She's sure to be in the Jacuzzi, indoors! We should've looked indoors! She's probably left there by now…"

"Maybe if you run, she'll still be there!" Trent offered. It felt weird to him, he was cheering up the almost-constantly cheerful one. Geoff was just really concerned for Bridgette, Trent reasoned to himself.

"Ah, maybe you're right!" Geoff exclaimed. "Thanks, dude!" He ran off towards the hotel, towards the indoor Jacuzzi room, and opened the door…but Bridgette wasn't there.

He ran up to her room, and knocked, but got no answer, even though he was sure that was the only place Bridgette could've been. She just didn't want to talk.

Geoff came down the stairs sighing, where Trent was waiting for him.

"It's okay man," Trent comforted. "Once she comes out you can talk to her."

"That's right!" Geoff exclaimed, cheering up slightly. "Now I just have to wait." He paused. "Man…waiting is not very fun."

"Join the club," Trent muttered. "I still have to wait for Gwen…" he sighed. "Alright, c'mon, we should do something to get our mind off of the subject of girls for a while. Want to play some mindless shooting video ga--" he never finished his sentence, because Geoff already took a running start towards the TV in the lobby.

"I'm guessing that's a yes…" Trent chuckled to himself, following Geoff's trail.

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Cody paced the hallways, trying to think of what to say once he entered.

_Hey, Noah, you're a real big jerk. But you probably know that. Maybe you should be less of a jerk, so people would like you better._

Right.

_Wassup, Noah? Did you know there's this great new thing out? It's called a friend! I heard it's very nice to actually have one!_

Oh, they just kept getting better and better.

"JUST DO IT ALREADY!" Eva shouted at him from insider her own room. Cody jumped back in surprise, and awkwardly knocked on Noah's door, deciding it'd be better to face Noah than Eva.

Noah poked his head out, and eyed Cody with a rather blank expression.

"What do you want?" the bookworm asked.

"Um…can I come in?" Cody asked hopefully.

"No."

"I brought chips."

"Oh, that changes things."

"Really?"

"No!" Noah groaned. "But if you're gonna stand out there babbling, then fine, just come in so you can say whatever it is you need to say and leave." Cody nodded, and scampered in the room nervously.

"Well?" Noah questioned, his back against the wall.

"Noah, that party was…not fun."

"You noticed." His tone was slightly amused.

"And it could've been fun," Cody continued. "But you were such a jerk to everybody, it completely ruined it."

"Right, and I should care because…?"

"Because everyone's sick of your attitude, man!" Cody groaned. "You have no friends here, you don't try to make friends, and you're just…a jerk! You're a man form of Heather!"

"Well, that did nothing except put really weird mental pictures in my head…" Noah snorted. "Look Cody, I don't care what you guys think of me. I don't like any of you, and I don't really like anyone at home, either. The only reason I signed up was for the money, and now that I don't have that, I can't wait to leave. I didn't come here for friends, so please stop trying to 'convert' me, for Pete's sake. Just save the speech I'm sure you had prepared, and leave."

Cody, disappointed, slowly made his way towards the door, until…

"NOT SO FAST!" A female voice exclaimed, crashing into the window.

"Izzy?" Cody and Noah asked in unison, surprised.

"You know," Noah continued in irritation as he glared at Izzy. "See that door right over there? Yeah, that was _unlocked_."

"Too bad!" Izzy roared. "Now, since Cody so kindly asked for my help--"

"I never asked for your help," Cody said, confused.

"And I'm kind enough to give people help when they ask for help--"

"I never asked for help," Cody repeated, still confused.

"So I'm here to give Cody help!"

"I guess we're going with Izzy's reality…" Cody mumbled. Izzy glared at Noah, and Noah raised an eyebrow at her, unfazed.

"Now then," Izzy started. "Sit down Copernicus, because I'm about to go motivational on your ass!"

Noah sat down.

"So," Izzy started, obviously about to go on a rant. "You don't want to make friends here. You don't want to make friends at home. You 'don't care'."

"Care to say something I don't know already?" Noah questioned.

"Stop talking! This is _my_ monolog! Anyhow, you say you don't care, when really, what I think is that you're _afraid_."

"I'm _what_?" Noah repeated, slightly shocked and slightly annoyed.

"You heard me! Not only do you not apply yourself to making friends, you don't apply yourself to anything! And, I think that's because you're afraid of rejection! And failure! You're smart, you flaunt that, but you don't do anything physically or emotionally! I think you already faced rejection once, you're afraid of getting it again!"

Noah opened his mouth to talk, but Izzy was far from done.

"As a very wise song once said—if you get knocked down, get back up again!" Izzy nodded. "Follow the advice of the lyrics, Noah! But don't follow the advice of steak sauce—because it SO does not taste good on everything!"

"You're getting off track, Izzy," Cody spoke up.

"Oh, right! Anyways, point is mister—you need friends to get through life!" Izzy nodded again, looking proud of herself.

"Well…" Noah cleared his throat. "That's all good and well, but I don't think anyone wants to be friends with the sarcastic, cynical, know-it-all. No matter how many speeches you give me Izzy, that's SO not going to change."

"Maybe you could tone it down," Cody offered.

"Maybe."

"Or maybe you could apologize to the others and see where that gets you," Cody offered again.

"Maybe."

"Or maybe you could stop saying maybe as to avoid your face getting acquainted with my boot," Izzy grumbled.

"And them's fightin' words," Cody snickered. Noah chuckled slightly too.

"Alright, alright," he said after some time. "I suppose neither of you will let me be until I make an effort."

"Damn straight," Izzy cackled.

"Well, what do you propose we do first?" Noah asked, arms crossed.

"Day's still not over yet," Cody commented. "It's still your birthday. We're all still here. The presents are still outside…"

Noah groaned.

"Do I have to?"

"Yes, yes you do," Izzy and Cody replied in unison, grinning mischievously.

"All right," Noah said grudgingly. "I guess…it couldn't be…that horrible."

"That's the spirit!" Izzy cheered.

Cody and Izzy led Noah outside, towards the table near the pool. They didn't make all the others come back, for which Noah was grateful. He didn't think the others would be thrilled with talking to him just yet.

So, it was just the three of them, talking and messing around with the souvenirs, and Noah was surprised to find himself enjoying one of the first genuinely pleasant conversations he'd had in a while.

"Wow, I never actually thought this would work," Cody admitted, laughing. "Izzy, you sure know the right words to say."

"Got that right!" Izzy boasted. "I was still in a pretty good mood, and I guess the run got me worked up."

"The 'run' was about half a block," Noah pointed out, raising an eyebrow.

"Well, I ran around the hotel for a while. I wanted to have a last-minute kind of entrance. You guys should've set me up for a cooler entrance line!"

"It's funny though," Cody chuckled. "Probably, if just like, one little thing was changed, I doubt we'd be sitting here now." He turned to Noah. "Like if you insulted Izzy's present first, maybe she'd be too bummed to give that speech. Or maybe…" he paused, thinking to himself. "What do they call that again? The butterfly effect, right? Think something like that could've happened? One little change this morning and a whole new outcome?"

"No way, Cody," Noah replied, shaking his head, and inspecting one of the candy bars he'd received as a present. "That sounds like a pretty ridiculous idea to me."

**(A.N.) Well, there you go! Noah, Cody, and Izzy got their happy ending, and I suppose Geoff and Bridgette had an ending that was open to interpretation. I don't think I did so well on this chapter.  
**

**Not much to say, please review, and I hope you enjoyed it. Bye!**


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